Hydrochloric Acid → (4-Methylphenyl)(pyridin-2-yl)methanone

Participants

Reaction Steps

In a 250 mL flask were placed 1.425 g (58.5 mmol) of magnesium turnings, 35 mL of anhydrous ether and a iodine crystal. Next, 10 g (58.8 mmol) of 4-bromotoluene dissolved in 70 mL of ether was added dropwise. After the addition was complete, the resulting mixture was heated at reflux for 30 min. Then a solution of 6 g (58.5 mmol) of 2-cyanopyridine in 35 mL of anhydrous tetrahydrofuran was added dropwise and the reaction mixture was stirred at room temperature overnight. The resulting mixture was poured into 1N HCl and extracted several times with ethyl acetate. The organic phase was dried and the solvent was removed, to afford a crude product that was chromatographed on silica gel (hexane-ethyl acetate mixtures of increasing polarity) to give 7.2 g of the desired product (yield: 62%).

Provenance & Evidence